Most Mediterranean countries develop both a medium-term strategic development programme (usually a five-year programme) and an annual budget plan for implementation. The national programme is guided through a series of policy and strategic documents that are periodically assessed and updated. As for the other terrestrial ecosystems, there is usually no specific national policy on wetlands. Furthermore, wetlands usually do not rank high in national agendas. Exceptions exist only where specific and sensitive wetland sites provide important economic returns or services such as water storage for human use.
A recent study conducted by the Coordination Unit of MWO show that seven main types of instruments support wetland ecosystem protection:
However, none of these instruments have been reported by more than 20% of the countries.
Some countries also develop watershed management strategies and plans, which are relevant to the wise use of water and wetlands. When decentralized and bottom-up planning processes occur, some countries also have interesting participatory instruments to incorporate environmental issues such as the local development plans and charters.